Chapter Text
"Shinonome-kun, can you help me with something?" An old lady stood before orchids and roses. Her blue eyes moved from one to another in confusion. Of course Akito quickly jumped in, not like there was anyone else in the florist shop anyway.
"Yes ma'am? How can I help you today?" Akito smiled kindly and approached the woman, she seems to be around eighty already. It wasn't first time Akito saw this person, she always called him handsome...
"Im glad you are here! So my grandson's girlfriend has a birthday today and I wanted to buy her flowers but Im not really sure which one I should choose. Can you help me with that, Shinonome-kun?" The woman stepped aside and showed the flowers she was watching at the start. Her eyes staring at Akito for any answers.
"Let's see... Orchids and roses caught your eyes" He looked at two options he had before himself. A smile still stayed on his face, after years of working here he can say that he is an expert with helping other people. Akito could come out with good decisions in just a few seconds, this time was no different. "I think those orchids are good. My mom always gifted orchids to others, they are amazing gift in my opinion"
"I will trust your amazing judgement, then. Im choosing those orchids" The woman took the flowers and handed it to the florist. He could've taken it himself but he decided to stay silent about that, he won't judge an old woman after all.
Akito checked the price and then the woman paid for pretty white orchids. He packed it into a small bag and handed it to the woman. If life has taught him anything, that would be how to deal with hard clients. Most of the time he met people that he at least recognized but as the shop gets a big more popular, more unknown people come in. Not that he cared, more people means more money.
He sighed and sat on the chair. Entire day of keeping with his smile can be draining sometimes. Akito was seen as a charming and polite boy who is also smart to those who knew him from work. They better keep that mindset as long as possible. Not that Akito is a secret assassin that is planning to kill everyone around him, he was just much meaner when you get to know him better. His sister always laughed at his "kind persona" or whatever she wanted to call that. Is he really that fake?
A doorbell in his shop rang as someone dashed inside, grabbing Akito's attention a bit. Why was someone rushing into his shop like that, weird. His olive eyes saw that someone pretty well built just entered the place. Hiding a bit, he saw that the man had split colored hair, both blue tho. Akito couldn't help but think about how good it looked. It seems that it's natural because he saw no signs of dying. Damn that boy's lucky.
He realized that he was staring at the customer for too long and looked away. Suddenly a black pen on the ground looked very interesting. Wait why was it even laying on the ground in the first place. Akito quickly grabbed it and placed it aside. That guy seemed rich so he had to look professional, who knows who that guy might tell about his shop. He checked his yellow coat and corrected his hair with his hand. Time to work!
"Good morning. May I help you in any way? Maybe a small suggestion?" He quickly turned on his kind persona and tried to look welcoming. A small smile wouldn't hurt him after all. At that moment he could get a better look at the man. Grey eyes, rich clothes... damn.
"No, thank you. Im just looking around" The man nodded his head and pass by Akito and started carefully watch African lilies, his new type of flowers! That nod show that the guy had good manners, interesting thing to notice. It was a bit hard to get threw aside like that but Akito decided to act nonchalant.
He quickly grabbed a watering can and filled it with water. His dear flowers needed his love right now. Akito sneaked a glance or two at the customer and saw him by gardenias, he started to wonder if that guy found anything interesting or he's gonna leave without saying a word. If the second option then he will be very disappointed... Anyway Akito went to watering flowers. He started from red roses and made sure they were perfectly healthy.
His eyes were trained to spot if any flower is dying or just sick. It's a big sad to see his kids die but he knew that's how life works, some kids go and some come. With a big sigh he shock his head and realized he gave a bit too much water to one roses, not that they will die from this amount so it was okay. Akito moved away from the roses and went to buttercups. He quickly looked at the man that was suddenly standing before, that made Akito jump.
"Oh? My bad, I didn't mean to scare you. All I wanted to ask is if you can give me a cup of water? Im very thirsty" The man titled his head to the side. Akito expected a question about flowers or maybe a suggestion and question about water got him a big off guard.
"Of course. Let me get a cup real quick" He placed the watering pot on the ground and walked away to the sink. The man noticed that the buttercup got a bit too much water to the point it was pouring out. Poor flower, not that he knew much about flowers. When Akito came back he noticed that too. "Here! Now I need to clean this mess I made"
"It's okay... And thank you for the cup, I really needed it" He took a slow sip, feeling every drop of the cold water. Toya always thought that cold water was the best and the most satisfying one. No way that that boy got that right. Most of the time he got warm water when asking.
Akito started cleaning on the table that the flowers laid on. It didn't take long for him to do that. Since he noticed that nobody was in the shop right now he knew that it was a clear sign to start a conversation with the man. Maybe this time he won't brush him off like he did last time. Let's hope so at least.
"Sooo, what's your name? I haven't seen you around, are you new here?" Akito placed the watering pot aside and now was able to focus his entire attention on the man before him. He had to admit, those split colored hair were pretty as hell.
"Call me Toya, Im just passing by and decided to look what you have here" Toya looked around and his gaze fell on beautiful sunflowers that perfectly faced the sun. It was always amazing how well those flowers could follow the light.
"I hope something grabbed your attention. My shop might not be super big or famous but we have a lot of different flowers. I can recommend you a few good ones" Akito tried to get Toya buy something without sounding like those annoying scammers that push you things into your hands. He carefully watched Toya's reaction to his words.
"Well Im not here to buy for now but I don't mind to listen about your opinions" Toya took a last sip of his water and handed the cup back to Akito. He gladly took it away and started walking around the shop.
"So those are pansies and I always like to add them to bigger bouquets. They are a good filler to my bigger work. Like they fit everywhere. They have many colors and are pleasant to human eye. Good if you have no idea what to add" Akito started his explaining while the man listened curiously. It was honestly nice to have someone to listen to you.
"You make bouquets? That sounds like an amazing but also exhausting thing to do, right?" Toya walked closer and looked at the flowers Akito was talking about. Pretty yellow pansies, woah...
"Yeah it can be a bit annoying sometimes but that doesn't stop me from doing what I like. If you know what you are doing then it can be pretty relaxing" Akito looked at the flowers on the table and then approached sunflowers on the another one. "But my favorite are definitely sunflowers. The way they always turn to sun is amazing. They are beautiful as well"
"I think the same. Sunflowers are definitely motivating if you look at it. Im sure that they are my favorite ones as well" Toya followed Akito and together they were watching the sunflowers on the table. They spend a moment in silence to just admire the flower together. "Anyway, I will be going now"
"You're leaving already?" Akito was a bit disappointed that Toya was leaving so early. He knew that people had their own life outside of this place but it was still a bit disappointing. He didn't even buy anything yet!
"Yeah, take my apologies. If I will be available I will definitely visit you tomorrow" The man put his hand on his chest and bowed his head a bit. It shocked Akito a lot, why such a formality when they were just chilling a second ago.
"It's okay! Im not forcing anything, it was nice to talk no matter if you will come back or not" Akito shock his hand a bit. Honestly he wouldn't mind if Toya would come and talk with him again. It wouldn't hurt to have another conversation with Toya about flowers, it might have been very short one but he didn't mind at all.
Akito waved at the boy when he left and received a wave back. Damn this guy was even more charming than Akito's persona he puts before new people. That guy held a very gentle yet serious expression at the same time. He was curious about Toya's background, was that normal to feel after just one meeting. They barely talked and Akito already got curious...
He heard doorbell and saw a woman entering the shop, well his job wasn't over so it seems that he will have to swallow every thought about Toya and work until the day is over. This will be a long time.